Rabobank is the name known to many working in agri-business worldwide. This ‘cooperative bank with a mission” has been ‘committed to a future-proof society and major societal challenges for 125 years. In the Netherlands we serve private and business customers, worldwide we focus on the food and agri sector.’ We may be a bit less familiar, however, with Rabo Foundation and Rabo Rural Fund which offer cooperatives of small-scale farmers access to money, knowledge, and customers.

The learning hour featured a guest speaker from Rabo Foundation sharing the structure and the role these institutions play in providing financing directly to cooperatives. We also heard from one CDO that received funding from and implemented projects with Rabo funding.